The Story So Far (Pomarj)
It has been 100 years since the defeat of Iuz due to the betrayal of his Despoilers. Furyondy has rebuilt itself and is once again an influential realm, second only to the Free City of Greyhawk. Due to the intense danger posed by Iuz, the Knights of Furyondy have grown to an immense size over the last century. Other kingdoms like the Yeomanry League, Ahlissa, and Ulek have likewise bolstered their forces. This is a time in the history of the Flanaess where there has never before been such military might amongst the different kingdoms. Now that the Flanaess has experienced an unprecedented period of nearly universal peace (known as the Pax Heironeous or Heironeous's Peace), some of the lands are chaffing under the constraints of treaties. Regardless, worship of Heironeous exploded across the world, and his power increased dramatically. The Yeomanry League was almost entirely destroyed by the rampaging giants, but their Dwarven allies were finally able to come to their aid once the demon legions were repelled by the Despoilers. They have all but wiped out the entire giant population, since the Ordning was never repaired. Ser Quintis, along with others in Mirefell, was able to keep his people alive long enough for them to declare independence from Keoland and the Yeomanry League. The nearby jungles have been largely tamed, and the Empire of the Unburdened (as they became known after shrugging off the yoke of colonialism) is an incredibly rich corner of the world. Ser Quintis still lives, given supernatural longevity by Heironeous himself. The near monopoly on mithril has made the empire quite formidable. Mordenkainen still lives, and he has slowly replenished the Circle of Eight with new members, and they stay ever vigilant for threats that might come to the Flanaess. Without Krusk's leadership, the orcs of the Pomarj were finally repelled by the combined efforts of the kingdoms of Ulek and Celene. All the nations nearby banded together and pushed the orcs to the far tip of the peninsula, making sure they could never become a serious threat again. A new age of exploration and reclamation has exploded across the Flanaess. Ket has sent colonists west into the deserts, and they hope to expand their territory into the blighted land. The stonelords of the Dwarven kingdoms have began delving deeper into the Underdark, even though they are still wary after the demon uprising spurred on by Vermillax. The Principality of Ulek has began colonization efforts into the Pomarj Peninsula. -The party journeyed into the Pomarj on orders from Azbak Goldhearth of the Principality of Ulek. Their task is simple: go forth and tame the Pomarj while setting up a suitable colony in the name of Stonelord Ashblood. -The adventurers arrived in Oleg's trading post, and they quickly became aware of the bandit problem in the area. Agreeing to help Oleg out, they ambushed a group of bandits who came to collect protection money. -They then met with the crazed hermit Broggan before heading out to investigate a possible colonization site. -On the way, they were beset by goblins. After interrogating one of the beasts, they found a hunter's camp, which they followed to Nettles' Crossing. There they healed a wounded hunter, Jaster Hallins, who agreed to join they colony. Tyal didn't take too kindly to the fact that a zombie was safeguarding a strategic bridge, so he attacked Nettles. Nettles was killed and fell back into the river. -The party finally reached the mountainous site and asked Melvun to contact Ulek to start the colonization proceedings. They chose four specialists to help them in their efforts. After informing Azbak that they had secured a spot for the settlement, the party headed out to clear a path for the soon-to-arrive caravan. First they headed for a goblin camp which they infiltrated using a charm spell, and proceeded to split the goblins up to dispatch them easily. Quarion fashioned a disguise from one of the fallen goblins clothes, and the party was able to use it to successfully infiltrate another nearby camp. The party dealt with the goblins at this camp and freed their prisoner, a human hunter named Dale Malcus. He agreed to come live at the colony, but needed to travel to Oleg's post to get some supplies before moving in. The adventurers also found the location of a cave which they believed could be the goblin base, so they made camp and, the next morning, headed there. When they arrived at the cave, Tyal immediately ran toward the goblin on guard duty and attempted to strike him down. The goblin was too quick for Tyal and slipped away. Tyal chased the goblin and the rest of the party chased after him, and they were led directly into a bugbear ambush. The bugbears seriously outmatched the party, and they inflicted a grievous wound on Erika, who had her arm torn off. For reasons the party hadn't yet discovered, they were taken prisoner when defeated in battle. When they awoke, Quarion was able to chew through Tyal's bindings and then he was able to free the rest of the group. They scoured the immediate area for anything that could be used as weapons and then attacked a nearby group of goblins with some big rocks. After they defeated that group, they began looking for their weapons and an exit. They came across a large group of goblins that appeared to be celebrating something, and perhaps quite inebriated. Tyal wanted to attack them while they were not in a prime fighting state of mind, but the rest of the party protested and they instead just decided to escape through a hole in the wall. The group then traveled to Oleg's outpost to await the arrival of the colony caravan and buy some new gear. When they arrived at Oleg's they found a couple of interesting new people there. The first was a priest of Heironeous who wanted to restore a lost temple to his god. Tyal wasn't too happy about that prospect and told the priest to get lost, but Erika and Aldine intervened and heard out the priest's wishes. The other interesting person was another member of Melvun's noble family. He asked the party to capture the leader of the bandits instead of simply killing him, for they had unfinished business. Quarion informed him that the charter instructs the party to kill bandits and not capture them, but said the party might agree to capture the bandit if Lodovka agreed to kill the bandit after they had their chat. In the morning, the caravan arrived from Ulek and they headed out toward the future spot of the colony. They traveled for a few days before being ambushed by some bandits. A few caravan guards and drivers were killed, but the party managed to save everything else and destroy the bandits. They continued traveling on for a few more days before an enraged troll came running out of the brush toward the caravan. Unwilling to abandon the wagons, the party fought fiercely against a vicious foe and succeeded in driving the troll off after lighting it aflame. A few days later they safely arrived at the abandoned mine. Once everyone had made camp, the party convened the first meeting to decide the direction of the camp. They ordered that the everyone's construction efforts first be directed toward building a chapel to Pholtus, farms, and a corral. They also directed Grey Bear to begin training a sizable guard force the the camp, and they had Dale and Jasper take some men to tame some of the wild Aurochs. Before everyone set off to their tasks, however, there was on final order of business: naming the town. It was put to a vote, and Tyal's strategy of warning the townsfolk that it would be unwise to anger a god made certain that they would eventually vote for the name Pholtesia. While the folks in camp began their duties, the party took it upon themselves to eliminate a very close threat: the Bleeding Dirt tribe of goblins which lived in a nearby cave. The group spent some time scouting out the cave to make sure there would be no surprises. Choosing an ideal time to storm it, they entered in the front ready for a fight. Once they dealt with some of the traps near the entryway, the party headed down a corridor that appeared to be safe, but were again ambushed by a pair of bugbears. In this fight, Erika again suffered a serious wound, leading to the loss of her leg. Eventually the party was able to overcome the bugbears, and indeed the entire tribe of goblins, though not before discovering that the tribe was friendly to the Staglord. After dealing with the goblins, the group set out to check out a few more landmarks that could have housed threats to Pholtesia. In almost a blink of an eye, an entire month had past, and the group headed back to Pholtesia to check on the progress of the camp. When they arrived, Melvun informed them that an lone Orc had set up camp just outside the colony, and asked the party to check it out. His name was Zuridar, a half-orc who had taken the Tuskbreaker Oath. This meant he had sworn to kill every single Orc on the peninsula, ending with himself. He had no wish to harm any of the inhabitants of Pholtesia and understood their standoffishness toward him, so he agreed to camp outside the colony if the party would consider bringing him on any expeditions they set out on which may result in finding orcs. After the group's meeting with Zuridar, they set up a more formal government for the colony. Tyal became the Baron of Pholtesia, Erika the Magister, and Ander the Warden, who would be in charge of overseeing the colony's scouts. Quarion was named Pholtesia's councilor, and he would be responsible for making sure the government was addressing the needs of the people. Finally, Aldine was named Warden and drafted a set of laws for the colony. In addition to setting up these roles, it was decided that the common folk would focus their attention to building a set of large bunkhouses for the inhabitants of Pholtesia, getting the mine up and running, and begin clearing a path to act as a road to Oleg's trading post. After the meeting, the party got together and headed out toward Oleg to see if he would help with the construction of the road, as its presence would surely mean a huge boon to his livelihood. On the way to the trading post, the group was accosted by a set of dryads. In the ensuing battle, Aldine's arm was crushed and had to be amputated. It was only with the help of Zuridar did the party escape with their lives, and they headed to Broggan's hut to nurse Aldine back to health. While the group rested with Broggan, Tyal went to visit Oleg and talk to him about the road. Oleg agreed to help, and said he would hire workers to start building a road from his trading post which would eventually meet up with Pholtesia's. Meanwhile, Erika and Aldine were being fitted for a prototype prosthetic that Broggan had developed. Fake wooden arms that ended in a crossbow and a bow, respectively, so that they could continue to fight relatively normally in combat. Once Aldine was fully recovered, the party began to head back North with the intent of exploring much of the land between the trading post and Pholtesia. When they neared Nettle's Crossing, Aldine convinced Tyal to check it out to make sure the bridge had not fallen into disrepair. When they arrived, they found something miraculous: Nettle still lived! Tyal asked how this could be, and Nettle told him that after being killed, he simply woke up and found himself back at the bridge. The rest of the party warned Tyal that if he attempted to kill Nettle again, they would not come to his aid. Tyal wandered off to pray to Pholtus for guidance while the Aldine and Erika spoke with Nettle. He told them that he had been cursed by the Staglord and that, while this curse persists, he is unable to die and unable to leave the bridge. Tyal came back and after apparently receiving some kind of guidance from Pholtus, offered to attempt to cure Nettle, who hesitantly agreed. Tyal reached out and touched Nettle, but could see no immediate way to cleanse the curse. He offered to smuggle Nettle into the chapel back at Pholtesia, thinking that perhaps spending some time in a holy place may cure him. Nettle agreed to go but believed the plan was unlikely to work, as when he attempted to leave, he always just woke up back at the bridge. The party decided to attempt it anyway, and after a day of travel, Nettle began screaming in pain and crumbled into ash. As the group was not that far from the crossing, they headed back to the bridge to make sure Nettle had woken up at the bridge. Sure enough he was there, and Nettle reiterated that only by bringing the Staglord to the bridge and killing him there could the curse be lifted. The party agreed to help him, and made their way back to Pholtesia as by now it had been almost a month, and it was time for another council meeting to check on the progress of the colony. This time, they decided to build a small library to bolster the education of the colony's inhabitants. They also sent for a cleric to help with the health of the colonists, continued work on the road, and set aside some money for a religious holiday. As the meeting was coming to a close, a great rumbling was felt as a major earthquake struck nearby. As the council emerged from the tent, the found that the mine had caved in. Many workers and all the progress they had made to make it ready had been lost. The colony decided they needed a break from the troubles of the land, so Tyal paid out of his own pocket for Pholtesia to host a festival for the Spirit of Giving holiday. At first there were only fun and games and prizes, but soon the people started wondering why it was getting to be so cold during the middle of summer. What once was thought to be a fun enchantment to enhance the festival soon turned into a deadly hazard, and the party was forced to investigate where the icy weather was coming from. They headed West to some nearby ruins where they found a portal to another dimension. After traveling through the portal, the group found that Krampus had taken the Spirit of Giving hostage, and was turning all the toys into monsters! The party eventually defeated Krampus and freed the Spirit of Giving, who lifted the curse of the cold weather and restored the lives that had been taken by it, and then left the party some presents. During this time, a group of specialists from Ulek had arrived at the colony to build a meeting hall for the Pholtesian council, a building which also serves as housing for members on the council. After their monthly meeting - in which the council decided to build a tannery and a mine, continue work on the road, and begin getting the mine ready for work again - the party headed to a graveyard a few days' travel to the southeast. There, it was believed that a great treasure could be found, and these riches could be used to further the interests of the colony. Upon arrival at the graveyard, it was clear that another group had recently come to rob the tombs and mausoleums before our heroes. The party followed their trail into one of the tombs, which they would later come to find out belonged to an old king of the Pomarj. The tomb was filled with all manner of foul creatures and traps, and both Quarion and Ander suffered lethal wounds. Quarion was magically lifted into the air and thrown about a chamber until no breath remained in his lungs, while Ander was blasted by an incredibly strong beam of magic, reducing him to but a smoldering pile of ash. Unwilling to turn back after the price that had been paid, Tyal, Aldine, Erika, and Zuridar headed deeper still into the tomb. Eventually they came to the sarcophagus of the king, and Tyal knelt beside it to pray to his spirit for any assistance it might offer. To his surprise, the spirit of the king manifested itself before them, and told them that those who had come before them had stolen his bones and the majority of the riches that lay in the tomb. Some treasures had been hidden, however, and the spirit directed them to a false wall that hid a great amount of gold, the king's sword, and a staff that had a very powerful enchantment -- the ability to return life to the recently deceased. The party took these gifts, promised to find the king's bones, and returned to the chamber in which Ander and Quarion fell. There, Aldine used the staff to return their spirits to their bodies, and the party journey back to Pholtesia, where they used the majority of the gold to order supplies for a stone wall. The rest of the month consisted of the party exploring some of the wilderness nearby Pholtesia. They found a wyvern with whom they agreed to mutually stay out of each others' way, found a slain unicorn from which they took a bottle of blood and a few hairs, and had a run-in with a dryad who was kidnapping some satyrs. The party wasn't able to save any of the satyrs and the dryad escaped through a portal to another plane. That month, Pholtesia built a barracks, another farm, and completed the road from Oleg's trading post. At the start of the next month, the council built four more bunkhouses, a smithy, and spent extra money training additional soldiers, as they would need to begin patrolling the road. They laid out plans for guardhouses along the road at key intervals, as well as planning out patrols between them. After the meeting as adjourned, the party traveled across the river and into the forest to the northeast of Pholtesia. A few weeks prior, Tyal had a meeting with an ambassador from the high elven kingdom of Selene, named Tarron Biraval. Biraval had told Tyal that there was an ancient elven temple in the forest, but it had been taken over by evil. If Pholtesia could vanquish the evil in the temple, then their relation with the kingdom of Selene would be much friendlier. When the party arrived at the spot indicated by Biraval on Tyal's map, they initially found a large hole in the ground and a charter from the principality of Ulek issued to Talgen Sharwyn, Ser Brafard, and Karakas on a nearby pillar. Upon closer inspection of the hole in the ground, it appeared that the surface seemed to have been sucked into the depths, and a rope led down to a small ledge. The party climbed down the rope and eventually found their way to the sunken temple. Inside the temple, the party found goblins and kobolds in a standoff, fighting for control of the temple. The party decided to side with the kobolds if the kobolds agreed to allow some Pholtesians to live in the temple when Pholtesia expanded into the forest. During combat with the goblins, Quarion was killed. The party decided to continue exploring the temple while planning to eventually bring Quarion's corpse back to Pholtesia and use the last of the staff's power to revive him, however they found the goblin fighters in the temple too much to deal with without Quarion, so they took the time to travel back to Pholtesia and revive him. Upon their return to the temple, they found the kobolds had all been killed. Weird tree-like creatures now inhabited the temple. Fighting them proved them disatrous as they could quickly inflict serious wounds. Quarion, Ander, and Aldine all lost their lives fighting the strange creatues. Tyal left the temple, unlikely able to continue on his on and deciding that the losses were too great for what good may come of continuing to fight through the place. Once back in Pholtesia, Tyal replaced the slain members of the council. To the magister position, Tyal appointed Thoren Goldhearth, a genius dwarven inventor. Dain Thunderfist, a man who had proven himself as a hero of the people replaced Quarion as councilor. For the oathkeeper position, Tyal needed a man with as a devout stance on Pholtus as himself, and so he chose the newly-arrived blacksmith, Argyle Longfellow. Finally, he gave the position of warden to a gentlemen who happened to be walking by the meeting hall by the name of Urbo Dax, simply because he was there. The new Pholtesian council decided to build a school and extend the wall north along the river to prevent further attacks. They also spent a considerable amount of money to replace some guards. Grey Bear advised Tyal that now might be an excellent time to attack the Staglord, as he had lost a significant fighting force and would be in the midst of attempting to recoup his losses. Tyal assembled the most able-bodied of the council and much of Pholtesia's guard force, and headed out to face the Staglord in his own hideout. Tyal's army smashed the Staglord's, and the Staglord was slain, although who struck the final blow is the subject of some debate. In the cellar of the fort, Thoren shot and killed a restrained old man with dubious reasoning. Tyal decided that Thoren should not be allowed to carry a weapon, and would be given one only once battle was inevitable. The Staglord's body was taken to Nettle as requested. He was able to absorb its energy to eliminate his curse, and was finally given the rest he desired. When the group returned to Pholtesia, Melvun delivered an important message to Tyal from Stonelord Ashblood. Tyal was to immediately and peacefully cease the persecution of those who would worship any other than Pholtus. Tyal's plan to comply with the order was to simply tell anyone who did not wish to worship Pholtus to leave the village. Many individuals did, and when word got back to the Stonelord, he sent a nobleman of his choosing to replace Tyal as baron of Pholtesia. When this man, named Blake Surtova, arrived and informed Tyal of the transfer of leadership, Tyal was extremely upset but relinquished power without any violence. He was very obviously angry when he left the council room but his intentions are unclear. Under the leadership of the new Baron, the council decided to spend money training and outfitting many additional guardsmen, and to pay another cleric to come to the village, as the last one had been killed in the assault on the Staglord's stronghold. They also decided to build a large stable able to house many horses of several purposes, such as work, war, and racing. They planned on then making a horse racing track next month, as that would answer many of the wishes many of the townspeople had with life in Pholtesia. After the meeting wrapped up, Blake gave a speech to the villagers of Pholtesia, ensuing them that this was the beginning of a bright new future for the village, and that quality of life would vastly improve for everyone here on out. It was then that a group of nobles from Ulek arrived, desiring to be shown how life on the frontier was lived. They wished to see great dangerous beast slain, and see other such excitements that a frontiersman may experience in day to day life. Blake organized a tournament in the fighting pit to entertain them, and then allowed the nobles to execute dangerous kobold prisoners who had been sentenced to death... INFORMATION Through trial and error, the party was finally able to determine that the path to the dragon's lair was up a winding staircase in the northeastern part of the dungeon. It was discovered that it led to a hexagonal chamber of polished marble with two heavy stone doors protected by three booby-trapped bronze statues of ancient Dwarven warriors. (Thorin and Blake worked together to make doubly sure that the statues were in fact booby-trapped.) A faint ringing of hammer and anvil could be heard coming from behind the eastern statue. After Robin disabled the triggering mechanism on the trapped portion the party was able to slide the statue away from the wall and expose a hidden door. However, Robin suddenly got a headache and had to sit down for a bit, so the party continued ahead without him. The door lead to a vast hall of intricately carved stone. Before the party could proceed, however, they were confronted by a Duergar who demanded for them to leave. After it was revealed that the party wanted only to locate and put down the dragon, the Duergar lowered his guard and agreed to lead them to its lair. The party was taken through the hall and past a large workshop where numerous Duergar were forging tools and weapons to a chasm with a rough set of stairs leading downward. Prior to descending, Blake managed to convince The Duergar to take positions on the edge of the chasm and make ready to finish the dragon off if it should try to escape. The chasm took the party down to an underground stream leading to a large, deep pond with the skeleton of a massive dragon sitting exposed within. The smell of sulfur was strong, and it was obvious the black dragon was nearby. As they stood on the bank contemplating their next move, the dragon leapt from the water and hit the party with his acid breath, severely injuring several members and outright knocking others unconscious. Reeling from his injuries, Blake bravely engaged the dragon with Shatterspike. Things were looking grim when all of a sudden, the sound of a gong reverberated around the cavern and Kadrean the Dragon leapt into the fray. The black dragon, startled from Blake and Kadrean’s onslaught, retreated further into the lake. Pierre, who had been knocked out from an earlier attack, forced himself into consciousness and anchored the dragon to the bottom of the pond with a giant earthen hand, seeking vengeance against the creature that had made a fool of him earlier. Kadrean leapt into the water without hesitation and continued to cut the dragon. Blake downed a potion of water breathing and started to wade out to join Kadrean while Thorin took a spot on the ruined bridge leading over the pond, ready to collapse it should the dragon try to swim under. In spite of Chesney and Argyle's best efforts to keep the party standing, though, another well-aimed acid breath knocked several out, Pierre included. Now free from the earthen hand, the dragon forced his way past Thorin even after he collapsed the bridge. It looked as if the injured beast would manage to escape when Kadrean, empowered by Chesney's blessing, danced across the battlefield and executed the dragon in an amazing display of athletics and precision. After the party helped each other up, a quick examination of the cavern revealed the thwarted dragon’s hoard, which was promptly appropriated. Once they made doubly sure that there were no dragon eggs lying around, the party took their loot and returned the way they came. The Duergar escorted them out of the hall, Robin was collected, and they left the ancient fortress for Oaken Hill. On the road back, the party had several odd encounters. The first was with a seemingly friendly giant who requested a drink from the party. Thorin presented him with a cask of wine, which he seemed to be satisfied with. The second was with a small group of humanoids with disturbing, fiendish features pushing a cart filled with the corpses of various creatures. The party stopped them and began to interrogate them when a portal opened up and a man stepped out. He introduced himself as "The Vile One" and then proceeded to take out and put back Pierre’s soul and shave four years off of Thorin's life with a high-five. This made Blake decide to establish a business relationship with the man and he agreed to sell the colony's excess corpses to him. Both parties then went on their merry way. Upon arrival at Oaken Hill, the party decided to hold a council meeting and discuss how to replenish the missing seats as well as to rebuild and revitalize the colony. There was an exchange of currently held seats, as Argyle felt compelled to take the place of the High Priest and Thorin decided he would rather help Greybear with his captain duties than be Magister. Pierre slid into the role of Magister, Chesney was chosen to become the new Councillor due to his impressive ability to rally people to his cause, and Robin was chosen to be the new Oathkeeper due to his history as a city watchman. This left a vacancy in the Warden position, which would be temporarily filled by Jaster Hallins. The Stonelord was especially pleased with the council’s response to the dragon threat, so he decided to grant Oaken Hill two valuable specialists, the mason Hamett Coldbrook and the warlock Wovok Nethergazer, in addition to increasing Ulek’s national effort to encourage the common folk to move to the colony in order to replenish the lost manpower. During the downtime that followed the meeting, the council was first visited by a small umber hulk who informed them that the Duergar from the previous adventure would like to establish trade with the colony, to which the council readily consented. Then, a battered-looking individual from Agrin’s Folly, the first Ulekian colony on the Pomarj, arrived to inform the council that they were under attack from multiple different entities and were in dire need of help. Finally, Lord Nichol Ventril, an emissary from the Nyrond’s colony in the Pomarj, came to offer an alliance to Oaken Hill, which the council agreed to ratify. Once downtime came to an end, the party made their first order of business to pay a visit to Agrin’s Folly and see what they could do to help the colonists stranded there. On the way out of Oaken Hill, Ogrin Slatemanger invited them into the temple of Moradin for a game Seigeball, a traditional Dwarven game, to celebrate the town’s reconstruction. Unfortunately, the party had to decline. It was clear that Agrin’s Folly was in dire straits, and there was little room for distraction. However, it is worth mentioning that several members of the party indulged in some hot cocoa before they left. This caused some odd things to happen, the most outwardly noticeable of which were Robin developing an intense fascination with his dagger and Pierre’s head becoming that of a lizard’s. The party then went straight to Agrin’s Folly with little to no trouble along the way. There, they met with the leader of the remaining villagers and learned of the threats of the surrounding area, the most pressing of which included slavers and Orcish raiding parties. Deciding that it was for the best that the villagers flee from their oppressive conditions, the citizens of Agrin’s Folly were invited to leave their town and follow the party to Oaken Hill. They eagerly accepted, and the party departed with the refugees in tow several hours later. The return trip to Oaken Hill was uneventful, and the new citizens were able to successfully establish themselves once there. The party had not been home long before word reached them of a string of homicides committed in the area. Robin, who felt right at home solving these kinds of issues, immediately began to investigate and follow trails. Eventually, he came upon figure fleeing a crime scene wearing leather armor and a sack with red diamond for eyes as a mask. While he lost the figure in the chase that ensued, Robin and the party eventually figured out that the design on the mask was a symbol for Incabulos, a cult based around chaos and destruction. When the police force mobilized a search for a mask that met Robin’s description, they were able to find it in the house of Fundry, a commoner. Fundry was killed in the raid and a letter was found that detailed a plot to poison the town’s water supply. The party then went into full investigation mode, intent on stopping the other cultists in town before the deed could be committed. While patrolling by the wells, Argyle chanced upon a group of commoners who were acting suspicious. Utilizing the leverage he had as High Priest, he was able to pressure them all into the church of Pholtus. The rest of the party, gradually catching on to the developing situation, began to drift into the sanctuary with the commoners. There it was revealed that the suspicious group was in fact carrying several phials of potent poison. Chaos then ensued as members of the party started rambling loudly and incoherently, grabbing the cultists, and casting spells. Blake grabbed a cultist, took him away from the action, and began to interrogate him in a very professional and effective manner. From him, he was able to learn the identities of all the other cultists in town as well as expose Fundry as the mastermind. After calming down the rest of the party, a crisis was reported in the mine. Upon rushing to the scene, the party learned several miners in there were cultists, and when they figured out they were being investigated, they started to attack their fellow miners. They were eventually killed by their coworkers, but not after several civilians were killed as well. After the whole mishap was cleaned up, the party decided it best that the disillusioned surviving cultists should be exiled from the town for the time being. Incabulos had lost its grasp on Oaken Hill, and peace once again returned to the streets. The end of the month was once again upon Oaken Hill, and the council was convened for another meeting. The only major change that occurred is that Brottor Gorunn, a Rockhewer sent to Oaken Hill from Gyrax, was appointed to take Jaster’s place as Warden. This was partially in response to the message that came in from the Stonelord stating how Thorin was too valuable of an asset to be putting himself at risk by adventuring with the rest of the party, and that he was to remain in town and work full time in his workshop. Once Brottor had gotten comfortable and established with his new position, the party left the village in order to complete their long-postponed quest to locate and restore the temple of Heironeous. On the way there, the party decided to investigate some nearby ruins along the way. There they found a sarcophagus guarded by a large rock monster surrounded by smaller elemental monsters that could only be killed when exposed to the element theirs was weak to. With a considerable amount of difficulty, the party was finally able to vanquish them and collect some extra loot from the sarcophagus before moving on to the temple, minus Robin and Chesney. After hours of exploration, the temple was discovered by the party. However, it was guarded by a massive dire bear that took the party a fair amount of effort to take down, and upon closer inspection, the entry was sealed off by a huge pile of rubble. Deciding that the situation would be better suited for others, the party paid a visit to Fort Valor and asked the soldiers stationed there for help cleaning the place up, which they agreed to do. Determined to tie up any loose ends left by previous council members, the party finally decided it was time to hunt down the fabled tuskgutter. They quickly tracked the beast down and put an end to it with a surprisingly small amount of effort. Like, the party was haunted by how easily the thing died, but then a voice from above spoke out and declared that the tuskgutter was a fearsome foe. The party shrugged and returned back to Oaken Hill once more. Waiting for them there was a letter from a Princess Seonyn Prolcayme, who described herself as the leader of the slavers. In the letter, she requested to meet up with the council in person, but her wording was vague and left doubt as to the nature of her true motives.